The present invention relates to an improved pressure gauge construction adapted to be connected to a foot pump and operative to monitor and control the pressure which is generated by such a pump when the pump is employed to inflate tires, rubber boats or the like. Such devices are in themselves well known and typically include a T-shaped fitting which includes a first connector portion adapted to be connected to the foot pump, a second portion adapted to be connected to a pressure gauge mechanism disposed within a separate housing, and a third connector portion adapted to be connected to one end of a hose which is used to inflate the object with which the pump is associated. In practice, the various connector portions are of threaded construction and are arranged so that the T-shaped fitting is screwed onto the foot pump whereafter the pressure gauge and connecting hose can each be screwed onto appropriate portions of the fitting. To accomplish this interconnection of parts, moreover, the housing of the pressure gauge, which is normally formed of a synthetic plastics material, is provided with a threaded element, usually fabricated of brass, which is physically connected to the plastics housing by an injection molding technique.
The foregoing known arrangement is comparatively expensive because of the plurality of parts which are involved, and particularly because of the provision of a brass or metallic connector in association with the plastics housing of the pressure gauge; and the assembly and disassembly of these various parts has been found in practice to be awkward and time consuming.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved pressure gauge arrangement which is far less costly to produce than the arrangements which have been suggested heretofore, and which can be attached to a foot pump and connecting hose more simply and quickly than has been the case heretofore.